OFNC issues update on GOS fees

The Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee (OFNC) reported that it was unable to accept the ‘very low’ GOS fees offer from NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) for 2024/25.

The NHS offer reportedly fell far below the level proposed by the OFNC in its submission - lower than that for the NHS as a whole – and represented a ‘real-terms cut’, it said.

After making little headway with officials, the OFNC said it had written to minister Andrea Leadsom requesting an urgent meeting, referencing her comments earlier this year about the ‘essential role played by NHS sight testing in the prevention of avoidable sight loss’.